Skating rink



United, States Patent .0,

3,307,372 SKATING RINK Alphonse Kenison, Washington Spring Road, Palisades, N.Y. 10964 Filed July 29, 1965, Ser; No. 475,658

1 Claim. (Cl. 62-235) This invention relates to artificial ice skating rinks and particularly to an ice skating rink for home use that can be easily stored during periods when it is not in use.

Artificial ice skating rinks usually are formed by compressing a primary cooling medium, such as ammonia gas or Freon gas, into a liquid form, then expanding it through a wire-drawing means which changes it back into a gaseous form. The reduction in temperature due to this change of form is utilized to cool a secondary cooling medium, such as a calcium chloride solution. The calcium chloride solution is pumped through pipes under the skating rink surface. The surface is built up to a thickness of an inch or an inch and one-quarter by spraying water in thin laminations. The freezing process frequently takes five to seven days for its accomplishment.

The electric power required to operate a conventional mechanical artificial ice skating rink of 185 feet by 85 feet in the latitude of the Middle Atlantic States from the middle of November to the first of April amounts to about $6,000.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an ice skating rink for home use that can be stored during periods of nonuse.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a skating rink that will not require the expensive equipment necessary with known artificial ice rinks.

Still another object of the invention is to provide such an artificial ice rink in which the freezing medium is expended and not recompressed.

In one aspect of the invention, an artificial ice skating rink may include a collapsible container of a desired size which will be made from material that will not crack upon the freezing of water therein.

In another aspect of the invention, copper coils or hollow, finned articles having a continous path therethrough may be located within and at the bottom of the container. Preferably, the coils or tubes are associated with heat conduction media such as the container for the water, or plates, so as to prevent concentration of cooling areas. For example, the heat transferring means could comprise coils embedded in the bottom of the container, adjacent the bottom on the inside or outside.

In still another aspect of the invention, the hollow, finned means or copper coils may be connected to a manifold that is supplied with liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide that has expanded from a liquid form into a gaseous form.

In a further aspect of the invention, the exit ends of the copper coils or hollow, finned articles may be connected to exhaust valves, ahead of which safety relief valves may be connected.

In a still further aspect of the invention, a connection from the inlet to the manifold may lead to a replaceable or refillable container of liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide, and a valve for controlling the flow of the liquid gas to the manifold may be included in said line.

By setting the valves before and after the cooling coils or finned means so that the flow is passing through each valve at approximately the same rate, water in the container which submerges the cooling coils can be economically frozen with the expenditure of the cooling gas.

The above, other objects and novel features of the improved ice skating rink will become apparent from the following specification and accompanying drawing which are merely exemplary.

'In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a schematic showing of a portable ice skating rink to which the principles of the invention have been applied; and

FIG. 2 is a modified form of the invention.

Referring to FIG. 1 of the drawing, the principles of the invention are shown as applied to an artificial ice skating rink including a container 10 of any desired size that may be made from a material that will be flexible at sub-freezing temperatures such as certain low-temperature plastics and the like. It may also be of asphalt, sand or other material.

The depth of the container 10 need only be sufiicient to submerge the heat transfer elements 11 that may lie at the bottom of the container 10. The heat transfer elements 11 may be pancake-type copper coil units or finned plate metal units of hollow cross section such as those shown, described and claimed in US. Patent No. 2,983,993 to Johnson, granted May 16, 1961.

There may be a plurality of units 11 which may be connected to a manifold 12 at their inlet ends, and to exhaust lines 13. The exit lines 13 may include control valves 14, ahead of which safety relief valves 15 may be provided. The inlet to manifold 12 may be connected to a line 16 having a control valve 17 therein. Line 16 may be connected to a replaceable tank 18 containing liquid nitrogen or liquid carbon dioxide. When expanded to atmospheric pressure, liquid nitrogen produces a temperature of 320 F., while expansion of liquid carbon dioxide produces a temperature of about F.

It is important that the lines 16 and 13 be adequately protected to prevent contact therewith by the human body. Accordingly, lines 13 and 16 preferably pass through water seals at the bottom of container 10 and are buried in the ground to a point adjacent the tank 18 where suitable insulating material surrounds exposed portions of line 16.

With the cooling units 11 submerged by water within container 10, opening a valve 19 on tank 18 as well as valves 14 so that the gas leaves all valves at substantially the same rate will cause the freezing of the water while the gaseous nitrogen or carbon dioxide exhausts to the atmosphere.

It is, of course, within the scope of this invention to utilize the expansible nitrogen gas or carbon dioxide to cool a secondary cooling medium such as brine, which latter may be recirculated through the heat transfer units within the container.

Referring to FIG. 2, a replaceable tank of liquid gas 20 may be connected to a chilling unit 21 with a valve 22 at the inlet thereto and a valve 23 at the outlet, which latter leads to atmosphere, there being a pressure relief valve 24 ahead of valve 23. A unit 25 may be located within chilling unit 21 and it may be connected by lines 26 and 27 to the manifold 12 and outlet lines 13 of the heat transfer units 11 of FIG. 1. A pump 28 may be located in line 26 to circulate a brine, such as a solution of water and sodium chloride, through the heat transfer units 11.

Although the various features of the improved portable ice skating rink have been shown and described in detail to fully disclose two embodiments of the invention, it will be evident that changes may be made in such details and certain features may be used without others without departing from the principles of the invention.

What is claimed is:

In an ice skating rink, the combination comprising an open top container of a desired size adapted to contain water; heat transfer means at the bottom of said container and adapted to be in contact with water in said container; said heat transfer means comprising a pluralityof units which may be connected to a manifold at their inlet ends and to exhaust lines; said exhaust lines including control valves and relief valves; a replaceable tank of liquid gas connected to the inlet of said manifold; expansion valve means located upstream of said inlet of said manifold; and valve means connected to the discharge side of said replaceabletank.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Todd 62235 Albert 62-514 Thorns 62235 Hutton 62514 DeBrosse 62-514 WILLIAM J. WYE, Primary Examiner. 

